A U.K.-based study on IT spending is bullish for the remainder of the year with single-digit growth forecasts through 2014. Unsurprisingly, cloud computing and service-oriented environments get a lot of attention in the research analysis.
Spending
on technology products and services is forecasted to reach $629.3 billion by
2014, according to London-based researchers Business Monitor International, which covers 22 vertical
industries. In a July 26 report, BMI forecasted IT spending
for 2010 to reach $511.4 billion and to grow at a compound rate of 6.5 percent
in five years.
This forecast is a revised figure after PC
shipments in the first half of this year grew at a much better rate than
expected. IT services is also being forecasted for 6.5 percent growth this year,
though BMI noted it is a much lower pace of growth than in
the 2006-08 period.
On the enterprise, BMI noted in its market
overview that "[b]usinesses are likely to remain cautious in 2010, but upgrade
cycles should accelerate in the second half of the year, boosted by sales of
Windows 7. The recession may have had a lasting impact on the IT market by
creating the conditions for the popularity of low-cost netbooks and notebooks
and encouraging consideration of new IT delivery models such as SAAS [software
as a service]."
Cloud computing and IAAS (infrastructure as a
service) showed up multiple times in the BMI overview with emphasis
on IT services and major vendor moves from IBM with its Cast Iron
Systems acquisition, Hewlett-Packard contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and
HP's EDS mobility contract with the Department of the
Treasury. The federal government is increasingly becoming a large driver of
cloud services' adoption, wrote BMI:
"Spending on IT services is quite closely
correlated with GDP growth: bad news in a
recession. One opportunity will be organizations looking for help with how to
utilize efficiencies from cloud computing such as SAAS and IAAS, as organizations
in those fields look to save money on IT investments. Federal and local governments
are one vertical where strong interest in cloud services is being expressed."
Software is forecasted for 6.2 percent growth from
2010 through 2014 with this year being bolstered by leftover migration projects
from the deeper recession in 2009. Again, BMI stresses the cloud in
software penetration:
"Drivers of demand for enterprise software include
increasing operational efficiency, coordinating global supply chains and
modernizing logistics and warehouse functions. More investment can be expected
to be in utility software and serviced-oriented architectures rather than
traditionally packaged PC software."
The report also stresses consumer market drivers
in laptop sales, expansion of the tablet market with the launch and success of
Apple's iPad and the continued rise of smartphones.
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